Medication Development for Protracted Abstinence in Alcoholism: CORT118335 Versus Placebo

Phase 2

Completed

Brief Summary: The hypotheses under test are that subjects with alcohol use disorder (AUD) of moderate or greater severity treated with CORT118335 will report decreased craving for alcohol following alcohol exposure in the laboratory and report significantly less drinking under naturalistic conditions, than those treated with placebo.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Male or female volunteers, 18-75 years of age.
Meets DSM-5 criteria for current alcohol use disorder of moderate or greater severity (AUD-MS).
Subjects will not be seeking treatment because the medication studies are not treatment trials, and to avoid exposing treatment-seekers to alcohol cues.
Subjects must be abstinent a minimum of 3 days (but not more than 7 days) prior to the human lab session.
In acceptable health in the judgment of the study physician, based on interview, medical history, physical exam, ECG, routine urine and blood chemistry.
Subjects with a history of depression, who have been on a stable dose of anti-depressant medication for at least 3 months, and do not meet current DSM-5 criteria for depression or anxiety.
All subjects must agree to use double barrier birth control for the study duration and one month thereafter i.e., males must use condoms and females must use spermicide and/or a non hormonal barrier method, and their opposite sex partner must likewise use an effective non hormonal form of contraception.
Able to provide informed consent and understand questionnaires and study procedures in English.
Willing to comply with the provisions of the protocol and take daily oral medication

Exclusion Criteria

Medical conditions that could be aggravated by glucocorticoid and/or mineralocorticoid antagonism.
Clinically significant findings on physical exam, ECG, urine or blood tests that may increase risk.
CYP2C19 inhibitors
Substrates metabolized primarily by CYP3A, CYP2C9, and CYP2C8 with narrow therapeutic index
BCRP and UGT1A1 substrates
Meets DSM-5 criteria for a current major psychiatric disorder, including mood, anxiety or substance use disorders, other than alcohol, nicotine, or mild cannabis use disorders.
Pregnant or lactating.
Treatment within the month prior to screening with (1) an investigational drug, (2) drugs which may negatively interact with study medications, or (3) drugs that may influence study outcomes (e.g., disulfiram [Antabuse], naltrexone [ReVia], acamprosate [Campral], or anticonvulsants.
Chronic systemic steroid use
Using drugs that are strong inhibitors and inducers of CYP2C9.
No fixed domicile and/or no availability by home or mobile telephone.

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Placebo	Placebo oral tablet	Six placebo tablets taken orally for two weeks
Miricorilant	Miricorilant	900 mg (6 x 150 mg) tablets daily taken orally for two weeks

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Craving to Drink	1 hour on the last day of dosing (Day 14)	Total Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores of craving severity in response to in vivo alcohol cues. Higher scores indicate greater craving severity with a minimum score of 0 and a maximum score of 80.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Drinking	11 days (Treatment effects on drinking were assessed during the 11 days of ad libitum drinking)	Number of standard drinks per day using the Timeline Followback Interview (TLFB). Total number of alcoholic drinks consumed per day with a minimum value of 0 and an undetermined maximum value. Treatment effects on drinking were assessed during the 11 days of ad libitum drinking and did not include the final three days of mandatory abstinence prior to cue reactivity session.